I think powder coated spoke rims are the coolest thing going, but after looking at a bunch of sites and reading up on them, I still have some questions. So maybe the Brain Trust here can help me out:

From easiest to hardest
1. Is there anyone who sells them for less than a thousand dollars!?

2. Do you have any pics of Road Stars with them on? All I can find are dirt bikes and Harleys.

3. Have any of you done this yourself at home? I read somewhere that the price of some light equipment and an old oven would be about the same as having a shop do it, plus there is the added bonus of making side $$$ doing small jobs for others. (This is my most appealing option)

4. Besides my rims falling apart at 75 MPH and me dying in a fireball, what would prevent me from taking apart and re-lacing my own spokes after powder coating. In other words: do I need a machine to true the rims or can it be done using eyeballogy?

Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas!

There's powder coated R/S spoked wheels on ebay right now for $550(if I remember correctly) w/no exchange needed.
I've seen several pic's of Road Stars in various magazines. They've all looked real good.
As for the D-I-Y thing,Eastwood sells a system to do powder coating @ home. Do your prep work right & you'll be more than happy w/the results.
You can do this yourself,but you'll need something a little more precise that your eyeball for final tuning. A truing stand & run-out indicator @ least.

Thanks man. I found those wheels- $599 from a guy in Florida. I'm still looking at DIY options, but its good to see some at a reasonable price.

I had mine done. I didn't take them apart. I had them blasted, powder coated and tires put back on and balanced for $200. They have been like this for 2 years now and I haven't had any problems.

trying again

That looks very very nice!!!!! For a $200 mod that makes a HUGE difference. Are the stripes painted on?

Thanks. The stripes are just pinstriping right now. I'm still on the fence about them. If I decide to keep them I'll paint them on.

Spare Change wrote:
I had mine done. I didn't take them apart. I had them blasted, powder coated and tires put back on and balanced for $200. They have been like this for 2 years now and I haven't had any problems. i really like your rims . did you have to pull out bearings to bake the powdercoat? thanks.

The bearings did have to come out but it wasn't too hard to get them out. It just takes a little bit of time.

I have powder coated Roadstar spoke rims without unlacing them also, I checked the wheels on a truing stand to make sure didn't have unacceptable run out and all the spokes were tight. Then pulled the bearings and sent them along with the pulley and cush drive to the powder coating shop. I have had to remove some powder coat where I did not want it to reinstall bearings but not a big deal.

Jim